Using Google Maps Satellite view considered cheating?

[TheH2s]

I know it's a nice tool to use and a feature on geocaching.com but does anyone feel like this is cheating? It seems like the map shows you right where the cache is instead of actually searching for it. I know people that use it and I plan on using it but some part of me feels like it's an easy way to geocache?

 

Is it cheating or just another tool to use while geocaching?

[+Panther&Pine]

Google maps may give you a general idea of where a cache is but they are not accurate in many areas- up to 100s of feet off!

Google maps can be used to find caches but they are not suitable for hiding caches.

 

It is not cheating, just using the tools you have available.

[+CanadianRockies]

I know it's a nice tool to use and a feature on geocaching.com but does anyone feel like this is cheating? It seems like the map shows you right where the cache is instead of actually searching for it. I know people that use it and I plan on using it but some part of me feels like it's an easy way to geocache?

 

Is it cheating or just another tool to use while geocaching?

If it feels like cheating to you, then don't do it.

 

My feeling is that it's a generally accepted tool that is used by many within the geocaching community. Heck, there are some people that even use Google Maps satellite view instead of GPSr's.

[+StarBrand]

Nobody forces you to use it.

 

As noted above - it is also quite far off in some areas and spot on in others so using it is just a gamble anyway - especially in more rural areas. Your GPS will tend to be far more precise and leads you to the cache as well.

[+Kameharem]

I have never been able to see the cache in google maps; maybe because the trees are always in the way, or the rocks are in the way, or ...

[+Ecylram]

I don't consider it cheating, but this is a game where you have the choice to play it many different ways.

 

What's been said here about Google maps accuracy is correct. In some areas it is extremely accurate, such as the main part of our metropolitan area. However, I've seen it off by significant amounts in less traveled areas.

 

When placing a cache I use an Oregon 450t to determine the coordinates but I will always double check those coordinates in Google Maps. If there is a discrepancy I go back and double check the coordinates. I never use Google maps to determine my coordinates.

Edited May 31, 2011 by Ecylram

[Andronicus]

If you use google maps mobile on a smartphone with a good GPS, not only to you get the true GPS info, you also get the satallite data at the same time. If google maps is accuriate for your area (and is usualy is), then you have a super combination. It makes it very easy to get to GZ. But once there, you still have to find the cache.

[knowschad]

Google maps may give you a general idea of where a cache is but they are not accurate in many areas- up to 100s of feet off!

Google maps can be used to find caches but they are not suitable for hiding caches.

 

It is not cheating, just using the tools you have available.

 

Good answer.

[+nekom]

You can't cheat in a game that you can't win. You set your own rules. There's a fellow around here who doesn't even use a GPS, he uses topo maps, satellite maps, a compass and human tracking, and he gets quite a lot of finds that way, some of the tougher ones in the area are on his list of finds.

 

Now I certainly prefer to use my GPS, though I've found a few caches without it using satellite views and landmarks. There are some caches that I wouldn't even think of setting out after without having a topo map of the area, and there are others I could grab after a cursory glance at google.

 

How you play is up to you.

[+Flintstone5611]

Is it cheating or just another tool to use while geocaching?

 

You would be surprised how often I still get a DNF despite my "cheating", lol!

[+JL_HSTRE]

There are people who find geocaches without the use of a GPS using a combination of Google Sat Maps, geosense, and the description/hints. I've even found a few caches that way. (It certainly works better for urban hides.)

 

I consider Google Sat Maps a very useful too to narrow down my search and assist in navigating to GZ via trails and clearings rather than bushwacking.

[+Coldgears]

In some cases geocaches are MUCH more difficult to find without google maps. Take for example, Love Park in Philadelphia, The coords scramble around so much due to the sheer amount of skyscrapers. I didn't want to look like an idiot it public, so I looked at google map and used that to find it.

 

Edited June 1, 2011 by Coldgears

[mtbikernate]

I have used the satellite maps on the GC iOS app on my ipod touch (no GPS dongle) to find a couple of urban caches. Out in the woods...have fun with that one.

[+Geoscouts.eu]

We use the overheads all the time, it is our preferred search method. When we started it was all we had - that and the OS map. Now we have a car GPS which helps us find some of the trickier hides but I always check out the satellite images first. It's not cheating IMO. Still have to drive many miles to an area then treck off into the woods on foot to sign the log. Now park and grabs on the other hand ...

[+luvvinbird]

I like using Google Earth and copy/pasting the coords, too. I can often see the trail heads or a different approach not given by the CO. In the city, landmarks around the cache are a big help in the search for micros in high muggle areas. I don't see it as cheating, rather it's just part of my planning to find the cache.

[+Stargazer22]

Since you're not even required to use a GPSr to find caches, using maps or satellite views is the primary method of finding caches for some folks.

 

Google Earth satellite views can be helpful in urban settings since there are visible landmarks available. Try using it in a forested area to find a cache where all the trees look alike. It doesn't help much even if the coordinates are accurate for the area since you can't distinguish any single landmarks.

 

I certainly wouldn't consider it cheating. You must not be aware that some folks don't use a GPSr to find caches. You are only required to use one to hide a cache to obtain coordinates.

[+hzoi]

Sometimes using Google Street View can give you a pretty good idea of where a cache is hidden.

[TheH2s]

Well thanks everyone for setting me straight. I didn't know that people geocache with only Google Maps or without a GPSr. It seemed to me at the time that you lose some of the fun when you know where the cache is. Tools are tools afterall so I now see the error in my ways.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I plan my cache machine routes with Google maps on satellite view. Can't see how it would be cheating.

[+luvvinbird]

Well thanks everyone for setting me straight. I didn't know that people geocache with only Google Maps or without a GPSr. It seemed to me at the time that you lose some of the fun when you know where the cache is. Tools are tools afterall so I now see the error in my ways.

Using a GPSr, Google Maps, etc., is no guarantee that you'll walk right up to the cache, trust me. So, with all the tools at hand, many will still be a challenge. I'm elated when I finally find the cache, there's no fun lost in that. Wait until you go after a few more and you'll eagerly use whatever means possible to get to GZ.

[+Chokecherry]

I use google maps and such to figure out my cache trips and the order I want to do caches. Especially on trails. I'll analyze trails a lot on google earth and stuff. Also sometimes to figure out why the terrain is rated what it is if it's not noted on the page as there's some I can do and some I can't do.

[+niraD]

Well thanks everyone for setting me straight. I didn't know that people geocache with only Google Maps or without a GPSr. It seemed to me at the time that you lose some of the fun when you know where the cache is. Tools are tools afterall so I now see the error in my ways.

All a GPSr does is get you to ground zero where you can start your search. That's all the online maps and satellite photos do. That's all a good topographic map does. Once you're at ground zero, you still have to deal with the inaccuracy of the hider's GPSr, plus whatever inaccuracy your method of identifying ground zero adds.

 

For more info, see:

http://cacheopedia.com/wiki/Geocaching_sans_GPS

[HighCarbDiet]

I never navigate with a GPSr only, whether I'm caching or not. It's smart to always have some sort of map as a back-up or supplement, whether it be a Google map, a topo map, or just a street map. GPS isn't perfect (and can die/malfunction), and neither is a map, but used in combination, plus some general awareness of your surroundings, then you're in good shape. (I see too many stories of people getting into trouble by relying too heavily on just GPS.)

 

I know that wasn't really your question, but considering this, it seems fair to use a Google map to some extent at least.

[DannyCaffeine]

If you are not armchairing you are not cheating for the most part.

[+The_Incredibles_]

If you are not armchairing you are not cheating for the most part.

 

Yep. Agreed. I use Google map all the time, I even used it for a puzzle cache once so I didn't have to drive to the spot to read the roadsign. Saved gas!

[+Don_J]

As soon as a local cache gets published, I look it up in Google Earth. If it's an urban, I check if it's in front of a house, or at the front door of a busy market. I want to know if I should just ignore it outright. A lot of times, I can use street view and see that it is in a newspaper rack. I no longer do those. I don't consider that cheating, just efficient use of my time and fuel.

 

If it's on a mountain trail, I want to see which one. I also maintain a bookmark list for a popular trail and I need to see if the new cache meets the criteria.

[+buffhusky]

It depends how you want to play - I know some people don't use hints, for example, or they only use them if they get stuck, while others always read them at the start.

 

I only use the maps if the gps is wibbling about (urban or woodland areas mostly, though occasionally also if it looks like the co-ordinates aren't very accurate), or to help me work out if I'm capable of the walk to the cache in the first place. At the moment I can only do relatively short walks on flat/even paths, so I use the satellite view to help me decided if it looks suitable for me.

[+wenestvedt]

As Tom Lehrer said, "Only always, please, to call it 'research'!"

 

Google Maps and such help me plan my approach to the area (e.g., is there a river/stream nearby I should avoid?) and/or to plan ahead for parking.

[+cmhall9]

When I first heard about Geocaching I wasn't sure if I would like it and I did not want to spend the money on a GPS right a way. So I used the map on geocaching.com to find my first cache. It was in the woods so I used several objects as way-points. Using the map I determined the direction from the road and the number of feet. As well as from a near by fence. I went after a large cache and found it right a way. Most of the other caches I looked for were urban and light pole skirts caches. I think I found 10 caches before I decided to buy a GPS.

 

It's not cheating. It's one of the tools provided. And if you can hunt for caches without a GPS, more power to you.